Instead of a Vision Board, Try a Surrender Tree
Happy International Gratitude Week
Photo by Gabrielle Henderson on Unsplash
Yesterday was the third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, and I declare this to be the start of #InternationalGratitudeWeek!
Toward that end, I’m writing this article to help YOU experience the resounding joy that comes when your heart fills with gratitude for the incredible gifts you’ve been given by God.
Gaudete Sunday: The Rose Candle’s Lighting
We enter into Mass with the Church robed in Rose Pink, singing “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say, Rejoice!” This candle reminds us that Christ’s coming draws near.
Pink: The blood of Christ’s sacrifice (red) mingled with His waters of purification (white). The pink symbolizes the source of our joy: Christ’s willingness to die for our sins that we might live an eternal life.
St. Paul’s exhortation to rejoice at all times and under all circumstances reminds us to be grateful to God no matter what situation or circumstance we find ourselves facing.
This does not come naturally to us. When the situation or circumstance we face doesn’t align with what we desire it to be, we can find it a challenge to thank God in that moment…but that’s good news!
Challenges and Problems Provide Opportunities for Growth, Service, and Leadership
Every challenge we face God allows that we might grow in our abilities by working out those spiritual muscles and developing the habits of virtue required to overcome our own inclinations to reject his call to love and choose selfishness instead.
Problems give us opportunities to serve others, and thus to become great leaders. Every problem we faced in the past and learned to overcome gives us wisdom, knowledge, and skills that we can share with those facing this problem in the present moment. By sharing what we’ve learned by overcoming that problem, we become a trusted authority in that area of life by showing people what we’re capable of doing.
Service unlocks leadership because 80% of people in any given room show up to get something and not to give it. If we become part of the rare 20% who show up to give something and not to receive, we automatically stand out. People not only notice but become drawn to us. We no longer need to fight for attention.
Celebrating a God Who Chooses To Be Born in the Messiest Places
One of the greatest moments of history came in the middle of the mess, manure, and smells of a stable. He chose to enter into the world amid poverty and homelessness. That's how God works.
If we aren't open to His ways of doing things, we'll miss the moment of His birth. We'll be too caught up in how we wanted things to be to appreciate what's there. Our expectations lead us to pass by the great good that God's doing right in the middle of it.
Gratitude: The Key That Unlocks the Storehouse of God’s Graces
After praying a nine-day novena to the Sacred Heart, along with nine days of prayers to the Holy Spirit and Our Lady for help in this same area, that I be made of one heart, mind, body, and soul with Our Blessed Mother, I found myself needing confession.
In reviewing my sins, I noticed a pattern: They all came down to ingratitude. The key difference between Our Lady and Eve came down to gratitude. Eve lacked gratitude for all that she’d been given. Her eyes focused on what God denied her rather than on all that she’d received through no merit of her own.
Gratitude marked every aspect of Our Lady’s life. Gratitude that she’d been chosen to carry the Savior into the world is reflected in her words to Elizabeth. Gratitude for the invitation to attend the Wedding Feast at Cana shows in her compassion for the servants and her care for the needs of the bride and groom.
She demonstrated gratitude even amid her greatest sorrows in her acceptance of Christ’s crucifixion without protesting or trying to dissuade Him from accepting God’s will and in her acceptance of His call to take on all His beloved disciples as her children. As a result, God denies her nothing she requests. He opens His storehouse of graces to her.
Gratitude: The Beginning of a Great Attitude
A heart filled with gratitude lends itself toward a great attitude. When you can be grateful for every second of life – including the manure that gets shoveled in your direction, you’ll soon find that the manure becomes fertilizer for the seeds of greatness within you.
Looking at the world with gratitude helps you mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. By looking for the good and appreciating what you have rather than focusing on what’s bad and what you lack, you’re training your brain to see the good and be satisfied with what you possess in the present.
That alone assists you in keeping your mindset positive, avoiding stress, and being able to find better solutions to your problems and challenges. It keeps you feeling empowered at the start rather than allowing yourself to be defeated before you begin.
Join Us in Playing the Gratitude Game
The gratitude game starts by saying, “Thank you,” to God for everything in your life – including the things you don’t want. You take Romans 8:28 “God works all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose,” to heart and you place your faith in the truth of it.
Then, you take it a step further. You make a game of seeing how you can connect the dots between the worst moments of your life to a dream you hold that seems almost impossible to achieve. Ask yourself, “How did I do it?”
This game offers your imagination a real challenge. I give you full permission to use ChatGPT to help you come up with suggestions for how the two might connect together if you struggle.
As you begin to form the habit of thanking God for all the problems in your life and using your imagination to connect the dots between the worst moments and the best possible outcomes, you’ll find that you start seeing every problem or challenge through that lens. This makes the hard times less of a burden to be borne and more of a gift you need to unwrap and assemble.
Take a Week Off from Negativity
I challenge you to spend this week leading up to Christmas taking a break from negativity. Instead, every time something happens, say, “Praise God!” Trust that no matter how it looks on the surface, God is using this for your good and His glory.
For every challenge and problem, “Praise God!” that He sees in you the need for growth and loves you enough to take steps to ensure you become the best version of yourself possible. Choose to play the gratitude game with each thing that happens that doesn’t fit your desires and assume the best possible outcome rather than the worst. It takes practice and a conscious effort, but the rewards are worth it.
When we meet life’s challenges and problems with gratitude and curiosity rather than anger, irritation, fear, or worry, it smooths the paths, raises the valleys, and makes the mountains lower. It readies the way for Christ to enter into the situation and for us to experience His miracles of grace.
Welcome Christ Into the Mess of Life
Just as He chose to be born amid a messy, manure-filled stable in Bethlehem, so He chooses to be born amid our messy, manure-filled lives. All we need to do is open up our lives to see Him and receive Him. He takes care of the rest.
What Are You Grateful for Today?
Share your reasons for gratitude in the comments and let's celebrate what is good today!
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About the Author
Award-winning international speaker and author, Brandy M. Miller is a Catholic revert. Raised in a culturally Catholic home, she left the faith at 16 in search of the truth and returned 12 years later when she found it right where she left it. Today, she is convinced that the Catholic Church is the cure to society's ills and is eager to help share the Gospel truth to those who have ears to hear it. When she isn't writing for or about the Catholic Church, she offers her writing talents to Catholics who would like help sharing their witnesses of Christ's work in their lives.
